Load transportation means



June 28, 1960 H. w. KRAus LoAn TRANSPORTATION MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 4, 1957 June 28, 1960 H. w. KRAUS 2,942,676

LOAD TRANSPORTATIQN MEANS Filed Dec. 4, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 28, 1960 H. w. KRAUS 2,942,676

LOAD TRANSPORTATION MEANS Filed Dec. 4, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 2,942,616 LOAD TRANSPORTATION MEANS Hans Wilhelm Kraus, Gartenstr. 4, Buckeburg, Land Niedersachsen, Germany Filed Dec. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 7 00,592

10 Claims. (Cl. 180-8) The invention relates to load transportation means having walking legs, especially for heavy loads and for the movement of earth-moving equipment as for instance heavy excavating machinery, power shovels, working and conveying machines in brown coal and ore mining.

This kind of machinery in the past was equipped with Caterpillar chains, for movement across the ground. u The Caterpillar chains, however, only allow a movement in a straight direction, so that a side movement of the machine can be achieved only by repeated forward and backward movements with intermediate curves. It is .diicult to turn with Caterpillar chain drives when going through a bend or turning on the spot as a considerable sideward sliding movement of the Caterpillar chain relative to the ground takes place which results in an excessive strain of the Caterpillar chain and a rooted-up ground surface.

Load transportation means are known wherein the load is transported by means of two walking legs moving in a longitudinal direction relative to the load wherein the load is partially lifted with each step. These known means however, have the drawback that a movement can take place only in one direction. However, in many cases it is necessary to perform a movement which is independent of the orientation of the machine. With these defects of the prior art in mind, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a heavy load transporting device which may move the load in anydirection without rst orienting the load with respect to the direction of travel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described wherein the ground surface is not damaged in any manner by the transporting device.

The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto are accomplished according to a preferred embodiment of my invention wherein walking legs are attached to the transportation means so that they may be moved by power means in the vertical direction through a certain distance relative to the machine and relative to the ground. Thus, the machine may move in any desired direction relative to the ground and may also perform a turning movement on the spot or during walkingj which must be done when going through a bend. The power drive may be effected e.g. by steam, internal combustion or electrically Vvia screw spindles or through pneumatically or hydraulically operated cylinder and piston drives.

One embodiment which is especially simple has each Vwalking leg universally attached by means of several supports variable in length to at least three diierent points on the machine. The supports may be so arranged `that the load is lifted and lowered again either by all supports or bysome of the supports' only, which means that some or all the supports are extended and shortened again in vertical direction by power means.

A simple construction for the supports and the power drive is achieved by using hydraulic means. In this case,

the supports themselves form hydraulic cylinders, pistons,

2,942,676 Patented June 28, 1960 ice and piston rods, preferably in double acting arrangement. The Ahydraulic operation provides a suitable transmission of power to the supports and a remote control of the movement of the walking legs. l

The ends of the supports are universally joined to the machine and to the walking leg, preferably through ball and socket joints. It is advantageous, but not absolutely necessary, to join the end of the substantially vertical load-carrying support directly to the machine, whereas the ends of the two substantially horizontal supports are joined thereto, preferably close to the walking leg. It is .diliicult from the constructional pointof View to join the horizontal supports on thecentre axis of the vertical support. They are therefore joined outside the centre axis of the vertical support, which will be subjected to a torque about its longitudinal axis when the horizontal supports are operated leading to-a rotation of the vertical support and vconsequently to an undesired twist of the pivot points. Therefore,means are provided which prevent a rotation of the vertical support about its longitudinal axis. These means include an arrangement comprising two rods -or levers which are interconnected by means of a ball joint, whereby the one outer end is pivotally attached to a bolt of the vertical support located substantially normal to the longitudinal axis Vof the support, i.e., a bolt located substantially horizontal, whereas the other end is also attached to a substantially horizontal pivot point at the machine.

The walking legs should be arranged so that the centre of gravity is located within imaginary connecting lines between adjacent walking legs, that is, if e.g. three Walking legs are used, within the triangle, the apices of `which have the walking legs connected thereto.

The invention will now be described by wayof examplen with reference to thel accompanying drawings in which: l y g Fig. 1 shows schematically a perspective view of a load transportation machine, having three Walking legs,

Fig. 2 shows schematically in perspective manner another arrangementl of the .supports for the walking legs,

Fig. 3 shows schematically the arrangement of supports of variable length at the machine, j

Figs. 4-4b show the execution of a step whereby'the load is placed on the ground,

Fig. 5 shows schematically the return movement of a substantially vertical support invariable in length,

Figs. 6-6b show schematically the execution of a step whereby the load is taken over by another group of walking legs,

Fig. 7 shows in side elevation and in section the pivotal attachment and the construction of the hydraulically operated supports, and Fig. 7a is a perspective View of the arrangement according to Fig. 7.

In the arrangement shown schematically in Fig.- l, one walking leg Z, 3 and 4 is pivotally attached to the corners of a load carrying body 1. The attachment takes place through extensible supports, namely through one substantially vertical support 5, S' and 5,'respectively as well as through two substantially Vhorizontal supports 6 and 7, 6 and 7', and 6" and 7", respectively, which almost form a right angle'vvith each other. The combination of cooperating vertical and horizontal supports is referred' to herein `as leg assemblies.

The-vertical supports 5, 5', 5 are attached with their upper ends to triangular frame members 33 (integralwith the load carrying body 1)- by means of a joint,fe.g. a ball and socket joint 12, which permits a swinging movement. InV similar mannenthe lower end is joined with La walking foot 2, 3 or 4, eg. by a ball and socket joint 1,1. The horizontal supports 6 and 7 are each at;

taehed with one end a ball and socket joint 13 an'clfl with the'body 1, and vwith Vthe other ends by Vmeans of each a ballrand socket joint 15 and 16, preferably withlhe lowereudoitheverticahsupport 5.

Y BvY extending thesupnorts 53 '57, the. loadgniay. 'be

lited. .from .the ground. and. 'by .extending "or shortening the horizontalV supports {Lanfd 7,v or 6? 211113,72v or 6 and Y 7", accdrdinglnthelloadmaybemoved in any desired di'motion` vacross the rground whereby. the Vload also .may

take, lip. tliiateral; edmponent.oftheiloadwhichjappears tered during lifting of the load, but the horizontal supports 6'and7' perform the lifting work.

Also, another form of operation. may be used with advantage, in which the supports and 5' at rst are vertical and then the load is lifted from the ground by extending these supports, so that the position Vis reached as shown in Fig. 4a. The-liftingwork is done by the supports S and Sonly.

ing and.' therefore. are. .,dimensinned; accordingly, v @horizontal vsuppOrts{.6jand. 7 nierelyfhave `to whengtheyerticalsupport Sffis jininclinedfposition and elrably forni acute. .anglessfin .theV -initial position, carry lthe load equally. V'Only .whenA the` load carrying body l is' displaced laterally, that means: when. the .feet '.2, f '3; 4

1,0v arises. Unlike thearrangementvshown .'inligrtl, .the PrQess of ,the single supports vis .less .clearly .discernable thierriore..n1-2n'..be.111.id'e.smallerl VYThe preferred.entendi,A Y Y mentaccodngjtoijFigillshowsclearly thepositionof Y' the. supports .54' 6. and. `7j in their 'initial .positionwithsup- VVPQrlLS erectrandlspports 6`Y and 7 disposed normally Y thereto( `Afrnddiied'arrangenient ofV the. supports, isV shown in Fig.,2.1. Tbeeisupports`8.,'9 andi!) which prefe The'lower'endsiof the supports 8, 9. and`10. should .beV j connected ,throughfa `common lower ball Yand socket joint 1.9, to..the ,walki11gfioctl.V As, however, Vit is Vdiicult t0 construct suchajoint-,the.lowerends'of .the supports 8, 9. llmay be attached to -the.wa1king,ffoot throughball andsocket joints located more orless'closely f together."Y 1 f l ,y Y Y i Another.modilcatiomof,.the'invention Vis .shown in Eig.

3. The attachment of Vextensible supports.5,r6 and T to Y the., body lis schematically shownbymeansof displacee l j able pivotal-points 12,V- 13and .`14. The .pivot points v12, :l 13,'and 14 arefor instance attachedio threaded bushings 3,6, 37, .38,1 .which `may' b e displaced by means onscrew spindles. 39,Y 40,41.supported ,in `bearings secured. to. :supports 33, 51 and to two zsides of the body 1; YThe direction .ofmovementof the threaded ibushings, 37, 38

Y substantially should corresp'ondwith the direction of the 'Ycorrespondingsupports 5,'6 and 7, howeveL-thedirecomitted. The body 1 Yinitially rests on theground.v The walking legs -2;and'3 are brought 'into the desired directionofrmovernent of the body byshortening or extending thehorizontal supports v6, `7','ancl placed onfthe ground byiextendiug thesupports 5, 5. Then, the Ysupports 5, f 5' YareV 'ibroughtinto Ya vertical .position by extending,. the Y horizontal` supportodas-'shown'in` Fig. 4a, whereby the Y 'load-carryingbody 1jis lifted from the ground and .moved "injthe directionfthezarrowft'ofthe right. ABy further Vextendingthe support 6j `and shortening :the Asupport f7', the load is moveds'till further tothe right Vantlplacedton 7 Y h'e'groundxagaimeas shownrin-FigAbI '.[hen,-the"walk ing feetffl. and 3 j are Vbro'ughtinto the positionV @accordingV 1, ftodigg; whereby Ythe-supports VSanti-.5C'transitorily are shortenedfso thatrtherwalkin'g legs-mayfperforin a Vmove'- m'et'aerosshe ground;V 'IheneXt step fmaytake place The load then'fmay be'lowere'dito the grou-ridv as shown in v-Figt '4b..in that -the supports--5 and1f5fa1'e-spivoted -by means of the horizontal supportsgG-andV 7', whereby the second half ofthe step iswcovered, whereafter the mode of performance commences aneW. Y Y

When the'load is-lowered fronrthegposition shown in Fig. 4a into the position shown inY Fig.'4b, the `horizc'mtal supportsY 6 and 7 are merely required to brake Vthe tilting movement of the supportsrS and'S'. y Y j Y v Y Fig; 5. shows .how the WalkingtootLZmay be; returned into itsinitial positionforthe ,next step; withoutsshortenjin gitiinthisjcasei. .Thewalking footfz lis 'liftedironi the Yground Yafter .thestep' has been performedrrbyriurther ,tilting thesupport 5 Vandtheri ismovedon a semimircular arc'. 4Zy into .the new starting.p ositionroni the ground, showninbroken lines. Thefhorizontal 'supportsfrandl whichperformlhl movementtof the supportS, aregomitted ,in ,Fig V5 .for `the. sake of illustration. e Accordingly, the

supports 5 .n1ay be'madeextensible and the pivotfpoint` 12 on the framerrnernberv 33 may be,arrangedadisplaceable inrheight inthe described. mode ofvperiormance. ,A Y Instead..of.placingthe load :carrying :bod-y1y onthe ground' again faftereachstep, a. second group -of walking legs may take -over. the load, whereby Ya .continuous .movev ment ofthe load without alteringV its :clearance `t o.,the

/ i substantially equal' during walkingfr Vground may be achieved; that means, without-expending lifting work. y.The ysupportsS 'and-5.', however,n1ustjbe g Yshortened .and extended .duringfitswswinging .moi/ement,

so ,that the clearance. between body-A and Aground -is kept Iny Figs -6b, counterfphased moving .groupsY are .indicated ,as 2 and 3 and 17,and 1.8,respect`ively.V Y Y Y j 'Y j Theremaining. horizontal supports-6' andr7 `as fwell fas 6"' and 7 ofcoursemustVK be. shortened and-extended in synchronized'rnanner during rvvalkingn, Byaltering the lengthof the horizontal supports. accordingly, and synchronizingwith y.the desired .direction-of .movemenh the load maybe moved in any .desired '.direction.v

VInstead of a group with three walking legsfassshown in. Fig. l, any desired larger number maybe used,}so as to achieve a better distribution of the -load von .the Vground and to take into account a `poor internal rigidity.

In Figs. 7 and 7a, theconstruction .of .awalkingnfoot as well as its supports and attachments to `the machineris shown. Y v

YThe VWalking foot .20, owing to its alllround :movabilit/,in the horizontal` plane .preferably .is Tconstructed as av circular plate, in reinforced hollow .constructiom The Y centre of thewalking foot.isjoined with the Yvertical` sup- ,v port 5 comprising a pressure cylinder 21 and .a Ypiston inthe same -rnanneras described above. In th'efdescrbed rod 22 by means of ,a ball and socket jointll. .The upper end of the supports 5 are joined Eby ab'alland socket joint.12 with the carryinglframe members33. f. The 'frame members 33 Veg., may besecured torthebodyby means of attachment eyes-34rand 35 .toform aconiplete chassis or frame integral Withtthe body .and fromwhichthe load is suspended. At the lower endfofthe piston rd22.a "pistoni 23 is.provided whichis vsealeclrat'` .both ,endfs by means such as gaskets 24 and 25 with respectio,.t l1e..inner wall of the ylinder. The pistonV rod 22 isfguidedin the cylinderrtopl9. Above .and below the Plfon 2,3fsi1pply llines 26.' and 7,27 for the' pressure .mediurng egg', pressure 'orlyare connected tothe cylinder 2,1.v Frlateralsupport of the supportiS,v the substantially "horizontally arranged the support 5 close to the lower end thereof with the ball and socket joint 16. The support 6 is similarly attached through ball and socket joints 13 and 1S. The construction of the supports 6 and 7 is similar to the construction of the supports 5, except that the diameter of the piston of the supports 6 and 7 is smaller than that of the support 5.

The ball and socket joints l5 and 16 are located outside the longitudinal axis of the support 5. When the supports 6 and 7 are operated, a torque may be exerted on the support 5, which would lead to undesired twist and displacement of the ball and socket joints. To prevent this, the cylinder 2l of the support 5 to which also the sockets of the two ball joints 1S and 16 are attached,.

is connected to the carrying frame 33 through two substantially rectangular rods 29 and Si?. The rod 29 is linked by a substantially horizontal bolt 28 to the cylinder 2l of the support 5 and through a bolt 32 substantially parallel to the bolt 28 to the carrying frame 33. Both rods 29 and 3i) are interconnected by a ball and socket joint 3l (Fig. 7) or through an equivalent joint, e.g. a Cardan joint, rotatably attached to one of the rods 29 or 30. This rod arrangement guarantees that the support or its cylinder no longer rotates about its axis. The longitudinal axes of the supports 6 and 7 intersect the axis of the support 5 with suncient accuracy at every horizontal movement of the walking foot 20, so that the torsion forces transmitted by the supports to the cylinder 21 are already small enough.

The rhythm of operation of the walking legs may be controlled by a central control device, preferably associated with and paticipating in the movement of the load carrying body.

Instead of placing the load on the ground with each step, it may be transferred to a second group of walking legs which perform counterphase movements with respect to the rst group. There may be further groups of Walking legs to obtain an almost steady onward movement. The rhythm of movement of these groups may be suitably synchronized and, if necessary, with overlap.

When hydraulic operation is used, it is practical with regard to an economical operation to apply the pressure only during the lifting and the forward movement of the load, Whereas low pressure oil, for instance by admitting compressed air, should be used to return the walking legs into their initial position. Part of the work which is liberated when the load is lowered again may be regained in form of a certain Volume of high pressure oil.

Although certain specic embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A load transporting device for heavy loads comprising a load carrying body, a plurality of spaced walking leg assemblies universally connected to said body, each leg assembly including three extensible members, the axis of one of said members being selectively movable from a vertical to an oblique plane and vice versa, the axes of the other members being selectively movable from a horizontal to an oblique plane and vice versa, said other members being connected at an angle to each other with the apex thereof located on the said one member, whereby by lengthening and shortening said members each leg assembly may be moved in any desired direction so that a load may be moved in any direction.

2. The combination of claim l wherein said members are hydraulic cylinders, ball and socket joints connecting said members to the base and connecting said other members to said one member so that the legs are universally connected to the base.

3. The combination of claim 2 comprising pairs of levers, universal joints connecting the levers of each pair, the free ends of the levers of each pair being pivotally connected to said body and said one member respectively, with the pivotal axes being horizontally disposed to prevent twisting of said one member.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein there are at least three legs so disposed that the center of gravity of the load will lie within the border defined by imaginary lines between adjacent legs.

5. The combination of claim l comprising screw spindle assemblies for extending and retracting said members, one end of each of said members being swivelly connected to said screw spindle assemblies, a portion of said screw spindle assemblies being lixed to said body so that selective rotation of the spindles will enable said leg to be moved in any direction.

6. A heavy load transporting device comprising a loadcarrying body normally disposed in a horizontal plane, at least three Walking legs for supporting said body, universal joints connecting one end of each said legs to said body, a pair of extensible and contractable braces disposed at an angle to each other and universally connected between each of said legs and said body for moving the other end of said legs in any direction, and means for extending and contracting said braces to effect walking by said legs and transporting a load in any direction.

7. A load transporting device according to claim 6 wherein said legs are extensible and contractable and means for extending and contracting said legs to lift and lower said body as said legs are walked by said braces.

8. The combination of claim 6 comprising means connected to each leg for preventing turning of the leg about its longitudinal axis but permitting angular movement thereof about an axis spaced from the longitudinal axis.

9. A heavy load transporting device comprising a substantially horizontal frame supported by at least three vertically extensible walking legs, a load-carrying body secured integrally to said frame between said walking legs, universal joints for connecting said walking legs at their upper ends to said frame, supporting feet connected to the lower ends of said legs, a pair of extensible and contractable braces disposed at an angle to each other and universally connected between each of said legs and said body for moving said feet in any direction, and means for extending and contracting said braces to eiect movement of said body in any direction.

l0. The device of claim 9 wherein said legs and said braces are operated by hydraulic cylinders.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,452,632 Cameron Nov. 2I 1948 2,639,048 Glashaw May'19, 1953 2,777,528 Jourdain Jan. 15, 1957 

